Ascension
by Fullmetal Catalyst
Summary: Sometimes it's impossible to let go…and sometimes, maybe it's the wrong thing to do. At the crossroads of destiny, which do you choose? A dramatization of the scenes that ended Season 2. Multiple PoVs.
1. Letting Go

**Sometimes I just post stuff.**

* * *

The instant the crystal tent sealed, a score of Azula's pet Earthbenders leaped toward it, their fists punching forward in perfect synchrony.

Zuko lurched in front of them, his breath coming hard and fast, his fingers twitching in anticipation. His skin itched with annoyance at the agony of _waiting_. He'd come so close. The Avatar knew he was beaten, this had to be an Airbender tactic, _stalling_, frustrating his enemies even in defeat.

Refusing to do the honorable thing and surrender.

But it was only a matter of moments before the Earthbenders broke through the crystals, exposed the Avatar, and forced his surrender.

_If only you could see this, Uncle. Why did you have to turn against_ –

He growled, shaking his head to clear his eyes. The wet obstruction glittered as it fell away, but he could not spare a glance for any distraction. He needed to focus on the Avatar, not his foolish uncle's mistakes.

The pale green crystals sat undisturbed in the silent cavern.

Zuko frowned, glancing to either side. The ranks of green-cloaked men stood at the climax of their move's execution, their stony faces contorted in concentration. Yet nothing was happening. They could be statues for all the good they were doing.

The nearest Earthbender muttered something and shook his head.

Zuko whirled on him, unable to restrain himself. He was _this close_ to capturing the Avatar, so close he could almost _taste_ home, and Azula's pets dared to _hesitate_?

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you doing anything?"

The man scowled at him. "We are, sir."

"Then why isn't anything _happening_?" Zuko roared. A wild spurt of flame accompanied his words.

The man's eyebrows drew down as he grimaced. "The rocks, the crystals, none of them are answering us, sir. The Avatar is countering our efforts."

Zuko stared. Was this man _serious_?

"You are the best Earthbenders in the world, he's trapped _in your element_ and there are _sixty_ of you, how can't you –"

A deep chime brushed Zuko's words away as he might a cobweb.

Staggering, the Earthbenders backed away, expressions anxious and alert. Some were sweating, others blinking, all retreating. Concern flickered across Zuko's thoughts as he turned slowly back toward the tent.

His heart dropped into his stomach.

The Avatar's crystal chamber was glowing.

* * *

Within his crystalline fastness, Aang reached into the earth, inhaling deeply. For the briefest moment he smiled, pleased to find that the earth breathed with him. Who knew that the land itself was alive, that it welcomed him with a snug embrace? Toph, of course — but her sense was something else entirely.

He paused for a moment.

Then he pushed outward, becoming one with the rock, with the entire cavern.

_Farther._

* * *

No fear. This is by choice. _His_ choice. The memory of a hundred Earth Kingdom warriors tumbling through the air lashes his mind's eye, but he had no control then.

_In. Out._

Katara's burned hands squeeze his heart and he shudders, but he _will_ tame this power. He is what he is, and he can be no less. Thousands of faces, young and old, all long dead, watch him accept his burden, his duty, his _identity_.

_In. Out._

He is the Avatar. Never again will he hide from himself, from the world. He _will_ bring balance to this divided world. He will make it one, show the world the truth, prove to them that there can be peace, and love, and power without hatred.

_In._

They're alone in the skies, best friends, the only two Airbenders left in the world –

She nods in approval, pale eyes unseeing, and he knows that not even Bumi could teach him half as much –

An arm over his shoulder, boomerang in hand, conspiratorial whispers as they plan yet another brilliant prank –

A tentative touch as their final torch dies, hesitant and light, but enough to send a thrill through his being –

But he has rid himself of lies. He has seen through all illusions. Having done that, he knows what he must do. The universe has no attachments, no obligations, only eternity. These times…every last one…he cannot keep them. He cannot keep any of them.

Her hopeful smile.

_Out._

Stars circle slowly around him.

A great figure rises before him. He recognizes it – it's him, but it is also so much more. It makes him feel transparent. As if he were immaterial.

Stepping forward, he enters its cupped hands, where a sphere of twisting violet light promises him power –

The elements are his to command. The _unimaginable_ quantity of energy would obliterate his mortal form, but he has already transcended that small body. He is the _world_ – no, he is the _universe_, and as he gazes down upon the great sphere below him, he understands that there is one final step.

A tiny thought, an image, remains. Dark hair and skin, and concerned sapphire eyes. Concerned for him, for what this will do to him.

All the memories, and a name.

_Katara…_

Then he absorbs the cosmos into him, and her face disappears.

_Forgive me._

His eyes open.

* * *

A pillar of light blasted out of the crystals, screaming toward the cavernous roof.

Shards the size of eel hounds slammed into the Earthbenders' ranks, crushing several. The shockwave flung the rest as if they weighed nothing, slamming them into the cavern's walls with enough force to crack the rock.

Zuko stumbled backward, ducking into the storm, praying that. A crystal that would have decapitated him screamed over his crouched form. He narrowed his eyes, lifting his arms in anticipation, but his sparks dissipated in the whirlwind.

That couldn't have been the Earthbenders' attack – they wouldn't commit to something so destructive, not even on Azula's orders. After all, they'd probably joined Azula out of a desire to survive.

And if not them…

From the center of the explosion, the Avatar rose into the air.

Light poured from – no, poured _through_ his small frame. The glow of his tattoos forced Zuko to squint. Even the brilliant natural light of the crystals seemed dead and empty in the face of such intense luminosity. It would have been no brighter had a star descended into the cave.

Between his palms, raw energy swirled in an endless raging cycle. It was all of the elements, and none of them, and more than them. Colors that Zuko hadn't known _existed_ seared the air, winking in and out of existence around the Avatar.

And his eyes…

Zuko's heart crawled into his throat.

_This…no…this is…_

The Earthbenders lay where they had fallen, watching with wide eyes and shivering limbs. Zuko read their reaction and swore. Azula's spell was broken – she could torture them all she wanted before they would even dream of attacking _that_.

He couldn't blame them. Even he, Prince of the Fire Nation, the Avatar's hunter…

_This_…this_ is what Father fears._


	2. Escape

Standing upon the violet bridge, the Avatar surveys his world.

The sheer energy he wields is unfathomable. A single blink could cause an eclipse. A wave of his hand would bury the Fire Nation in a mountain of volcanic ash. He could erase the war with a thought, change a thousand years of weather patterns with a word.

He could do anything.

_But why?_

The thought gives the Avatar pause.

The power churns in his hands, in his head, in his soul. It is the true meaning of all the elements, yes, but it is so much _more_. It is the sun and the moon and the stars. It is life and death, but it is also neither; it is time, and it is infinity. The briefest moment and the longest eternity are one.

This _feeling_, the energy _racing_ through his thoughts…it makes him, beyond a shred of doubt, the closest thing his world has to a _god_.

But there is something missing.

He came he for a reason, he is sure of it. A being as powerful as the Avatar would not seek _more_ power unless he truly needed it. But what threat could force him to seek the cosmos?

_Why am I here?_

His eyes fall upon Ba Sing Se. Something about the Earth Kingdom capital tugs at his subconscious. There is something there…something important that he once knew, that he _must_ know…

The Avatar wills sight, and in an instant his vision encompasses the entire city. Every detail is revealed to him: all its secrets, illusions, lies. His brow furrowed, he scans the palace grounds – it is there – no, it is _below_, in caverns beneath the ground, where a flash – _there_.

_Yes._

He was attacked, he came here to defend himself, to –

Terrible agony _rips_ through his core, the feeling of a thousand jagged knives slowly clawing their way through his bones, _crunching_ them, leaving –

– fire around him, within him, the great figure before him closes its eyes, its arms falling limply to its sides as it topples into oblivion, and Aang is suddenly alone, alone in the dark, with nothing but –

– lightning crackling through him, _tearing_ _him apart_ even as it crushes him into –

A flash of violet light –_ energy!_ – and he grabs for it but his hand passes through, the energy is there, of course it is, it always is, but this time _he_ isn't there, he doesn't belong here, he needs a spirit and his…is…

The bridge beneath his feet vanishes, and the fire ravages his mind, he cries for air but there is _nothing_, nothing but empty space and the world, far below, rushing up to meet him, to embrace him in –

Darkness.

* * *

Her vision wavered. She blinked, straining her eyes, unable to tear herself from the sight. Her cheeks were wet.

He had risen, glowing. She'd been so proud, he'd entered the Avatar State by choice. He'd controlled it.

_Aang…no…_

His body tumbled through the air.

Her heart beat once. The slow, pounding beat threatened to shake her into pieces. The air tasted like metal.

She stood on the edge of an abyss, a gaping chasm inside her.

Smoke trickled from his body, rising even as he fell.

_Smoke…fire…they did this, they…_

_Don't fall…please…_

_You can't._

– Deep within her, water stirred. Her limbs trembled with the force of the rage as it rushed to fill the hollow emptiness of her soul, bursting forth in a wave that stretched the width of the cavern –

– It roared as it rolled forth, the wolves of the south howling as they leaped into battle. She rode the wave as it washed away all in its path, the crystal shards, the scorched stones, the Dai Li, the murderous Princess, the treacherous Prince –

But it couldn't wash away the pain.

His body lay in her arms. So small, so fragile, so…

Heart hammering, she fumbled for his wrist, his pulse, his flowing blood – _blood, isn't that water, why can't I_ –

_Nothing_.

But…but…he couldn't be…he was the Avatar, a beacon, everyone was counting on him, they –

And besides, the world _needed_ him, _she_ needed him, his boundless energy, his infectious smile, his happy grey eyes, would she never –

An old man in front of her. Fire gleamed in her blurred vision, blasts of brilliant red and orange. A voice shouting, telling her to…she couldn't make out the words. Did it matter? What could –

"—get the Avatar out of here! _Go_!"

_You don't understand. He's…_

No.

Even as another shuddering breath wracked her body, something kept the word at bay.

She would not say it. Saying it would make it real. Would be the final hammer strike that shattered her.

Then a memory sparked, and her anguish froze in its tracks.

"_I've been saving it for something important."_

She stood.

Purpose.

She had to get out, get Aang somewhere else, somewhere safe, where she could save him, heal him…

A sob tore from her.

_Aang…I…_

Step, step.

A trio of Dai Li – _how could you, he is fighting for you, too – _ran toward her, but Katara's tears returned in a rush. When she blinked her eyes clear, gasping, the agents were gone.

Step, step.

The noise behind her intensified, shouts and crackling blasts, but it seemed miles away, dull, and she ignored it.

The world didn't matter.

Step, _splash_.

_Water_.

She looked up, her gaze following the torrent of falling water. It must have been what fed the series of canals in the caverns. It led up – _outside, escape…away from here_ – to a faint, silver light.

_I won't let go, Aang. Just hang on._

Wrapping the water around her, she lifted her arm, and the torrent surged back in the direction it had fallen, carrying the two of them to the moon, and the stars, and the open sky.

_The sky, Aang. Don't worry._

_I'll help you back up._

* * *

Iroh glanced back. The girl had gotten up and was steadily making her way to the waterfall.

_Good girl. Go. You can save him._

He wished he could go with them, join them, but his place was here, atoning for his failure.

The Dai Li closed in around him. Perhaps fifty in all, many of them wounded. _And still in better shape than some: when the Avatar chooses power, nothing can stand against him_…

He caught Azula watching him from atop one of the crystal formations. _Almost nothing_, he amended. If only he'd been here sooner…

"You're a fool, old man," one of the Dai Li said, his demeanor harder than the rock on which they stood. "You, alone, against the world's strongest Earthbenders."

Iroh shook his head. "An old man does many foolish things in his lifetime," he said, rolling his shoulders. "This is not one of them."

The Dai Li snorted. "Madness. Very well. Consider yourself our captive."

Iroh raised an eyebrow, surprised. Such odd men these were, thinking he would jump into their midst just to surrender. He'd have to eventually, of course, but at the start? Wasn't Ba Sing Se supposed to be a place of intelligence, a reservoir of knowledgeable men and women? The regulars at his teashop had certainly given that impression. "But you're all my captives…a captive audience!"

Several of the agents laughed. The leader walked around him, a slight smirk touching his stony expression. "Excuse us, grandfather, but we have business elsewhere. Dai Li, restrain this jester, and kill the—"

He shrieked as he was engulfed in fire, flames so hot that the other agents had to shield themselves from the heat. It took only seconds for the inferno to finish its deadly work, the man crumpling to the cavern floor, bones turning to black ash.

A ringing silence descended on the cavern.

Shocked faces turned to Iroh, but he was already deepening his breathing. _Energy, not force. Willpower, not rage. Harmony, not control._

_I can't beat them all, not with Azula nearby, but I don't have to. I just need to buy the Avatar time._

He couldn't hide from the thought that Zuko, the boy he loved like his own son, was the other reason he could not win.

"I am an uncle, and I was once a father," he began. It only seemed fair to let them know there was no shame in being outmatched. "But I was also a general. I led my father's legions against the Earth Kingdom, against Ba Sing Se itself. I was a master Firebender…and my tea was famous!"

They watched him, human statues in defensive postures, awaiting his move. More nervous than patient, more shaken by his power than confident in their numbers. Frightened.

_They should be. For the sun is both creation and destruction, and that balance is the key to everything._

"But before I became a general…I was a_ Dragon_."

The air turned to flame.


	3. Full Circle

For what seemed like the thirtieth time in an hour, Zuko shook himself.

The torches in the throne room shone bright. They were here, Fire Nation royalty, in the palace of Ba Sing Se. Mai and Ty Lee were leading half the city guard on a chase through the city, guaranteeing that by the time the city knew what was going on, it'd be far too late to do anything.

It didn't feel like victory.

Azula had already sent the Dai Li to bring down the walls. Even now, the Fire Nation forces would be receiving her messenger hawks and moving into position. Maybe he was just being cautious. Zuko had seen victory slip away too many times to relax now.

That had to be it.

She controlled them, the Dai Li. He had no idea how, but she owned them. In hours, she'd own Ba Sing Se as a conqueror. Sitting on the throne, back straight, eyebrows arched, she looked every bit in charge. Every bit a Firelord despite her Earth Kingdom attire.

_But she won't be the Firelord, not anymore. When I return home, Father will accept me. He has to._

If anyone could take it away from him, though… "You're not going to let it happen."

Azula turned to face him. Her smile was puzzled. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, brother."

"When I go home. You've been Father's heir for three years, and now he'll take me back. He has to. But you won't accept that, will you? If you give up being his successor, there's a reason. Nothing's changed."

Everything had changed, though. He'd regained his honor and proven himself, and Father would see that. The Water Tribe girl didn't know what was at stake for him, what had always been at stake. She couldn't.

"_I thought you had changed!"_

He shook his head again. He didn't want to hear Katara's accusations. Or his sister's hollow reassurances, which were sure to come.

"Zuko…"

Something about the way she said his name grabbed him. A quiet, distracted mumble.

Azula was looking at him, but her eyes were gazing inward, and her expression was thoughtful. Zuko knew immediately that her words weren't meant for him. "You're back…and all because…"

Her hand opened and closed, her fingers fluttering. The corner of her mouth twitched.

Zuko frowned. Whatever idea his words had ignited, it fascinated her. What was her game?

Then she caught him staring at her, and after a moment her expression sharpened once more into the mask he knew. "Don't be selfish. There's no need for us to fight, Zuko. Especially not after tonight. We've done it. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se. We've all but won the war."

He didn't believe her, not after all he'd seen her do, but her words struck the thing he was trying so hard not to think about. "Uncle…"

"What about him?"

Zuko could almost hear her eyes rolling. He wanted to shout at her, but the words disappeared into the loud buzz of his thoughts. "I betrayed him."

Azula sighed. "No, brother. He betrayed you. After all you've done to try to stop the Avatar, Uncle tried to stop _you_." She stood up from the throne, peering intently at him as she crossed her arms. "Zuko, when we return home, Father _will_ welcome you. Think about what you've done! You're a war hero now."

_Think about what you've done_. The Avatar's broken body, limp in a crying girl's arms. "But I…I don't have the Avatar. Father said that only by capturing the Avatar…What if he doesn't restore my honor?"

Her hand fell on his shoulder, warm, hard. "He can't. You've already restored your own honor. The rest is just ceremony after what you've done here."

Zuko nodded slowly, her words sinking into him. He tried to believe her.

_What I've done…_

* * *

He is falling forever.

Darkness surrounds him. From the shadows, a thousand voices cry out to him in whispers, an endless, meaningless chittering. They are calling for him, and he wants to answer but he has no voice. There's no air here.

Black fire arcs through the void, crackling through him once more. His nerves feel like shattered glass.

No air.

He can feel a pull. It's different from falling, not as urgent, but it's just as strong. Maybe stronger, pulling on his insides, on his soul. It manifests where it touches him, and he can't look away. Familiar hands…his own hands.

His past selves. They'll take him away.

_Good_. _The Avatar failed. The cycle has to continue._

A light laps his back. Its soothing coolness reminds him that he can, in fact, feel. It sharpens the pain in his body, grinding his blood into ice, and he opens his mouth —

* * *

— Coughing, choking, Aang hacked out the nothingness, brought much needed air into his lungs. Air. His element.

The next hundred breaths would feel like sucking ash through a straw, but this first made him want to fly.

A few more heartbeats, and he realized the wind was battering his cheeks. Maybe he was already flying.

Or falling. He could remember falling, flailing helplessly in the dark, the agony of _burning_…

Panic. Metal bars for limbs. No way could he recover before he hit the ground. Aang's heart raced.

But then the fear evaporated. He knew where he was. Bent at the waist, sitting on a fluffy surface, a _living_ surface. He'd sat here a thousand times, joking to the empty sky about how well he could hear his best friend's thoughts from here. _Appa_. _Hey buddy_.

Someone gasped, someone he knew, and his world tilted.

Katara's face floated above him. Her cheeks were wet and her hair billowed in the wind. One of her eyebrows had been singed, probably by the same fire that had blackened her dress and left an angry red mark on part of her neck. But she didn't seem to care — she was staring at him, tear-filled eyes wide, and her expression was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Why she was smiling at him like that, Aang couldn't possibly guess, but it made him giddy, and though it hurt his jaw he smiled back.

When she hugged him — tender, but so firmly he could believe that she'd never let him go — Aang fell again. This time, the darkness numbed the pain. It wrapped him in itself, and within seconds it was sleeping with him.


	4. Epilogue

On the midnight breeze rides the scent of despair.

A deposed king remarks sadly that his city, the bastion of hope for those who resist the Fire Nation, has fallen. The people of the city will discover in the morning that treachery has brought down walls thought impregnable, that tyranny marches through the streets in armor hard and sharp.

In the bowels of an ironclad ship, a former general slumps behind bars. A dozen guards fix their eyes on him, watching for the slightest sign of aggression, but the Dragon of the West has no more fire in him. The youth he considered a son has betrayed him.

Worst of all is the news that will spread with the dawn: the Avatar is dead.

* * *

His ship cuts through the waves like a blade. The deep blue of the ocean glitters with silver light, a billion stars twinkling on the gentle crests. It is a sight to take the breath away.

The scarred Fire Prince is incapable of noticing. Though he will stand out here every night, the moon shining on his face, his mind is back in the crystal caverns—

"_Maybe…maybe you could be free of it."_

– where the girl screams at him, her expression enraged, but he can hear the hurt in her shaking voice, because she believed that he had…changed.

She _left_ me! _I've always wanted – needed – to go home, and now I can. She was never more than…never more than an enemy. Yes, nothing more. It had to be a trick._

Home lies ahead. He's gotten exactly what he wanted.

In his mind's eye, lightning flashes, and a young boy falls. Not a demigod, blazing with cosmic power, the Fire Nation's greatest threat and most dangerous opponent. Not his prey, hunted for years, his sole objective as he sought to redeem his honor.

Just a boy, shot in the back by a treacherous Firebender.

No matter how hard he tries, Zuko can't convince himself that he's done the right thing.

* * *

Challenges await. The obstacles ahead are insurmountable, and no number of Water Tribe raids will change the fact that the war has been lost. The rebels in the swamps, in the forests, on the waves…they fight a war they cannot win.

But they will never give up. They've come too far, surrendered too much. Even if the Fire Nation is destined to win in the end, its enemies will go down fighting.

Prisoners eye their guards, tracking their movements, memorizing their schedules. Earthbenders pass on the rumor of a girl who could bend metal and vow to train harder. Merchants, barkeeps, and mercenaries alike whisper of ghostly ships, sailing under cover of mist, gathering troops and supplies, trading information. They know that even if there's no hope, the fight ends only when their will collapses.

Around the world, gloom will give way to resolve.

And in the skies above Ba Sing Se, a band of friends make for the sea, armed with a plan…and the determination to make things right.

* * *

He is sleeping, now.

Katara pulls him closer, hugging his small body to hers. She's seen him sleep before, but never this deeply, as if he hadn't slept in a year. Never has he looked this vulnerable. There are moments when he barely appears to be breathing…

Her chest tightens and her breathing shallows, quickens. She remembers all too well the feeling of watching him fall. The feeling of holding his still, dead body in her arms.

_Stop it. He's alive._

It might have been different. It should have – they were lucky. The kind of luck that couldn't repeat itself, now that she was out of spirit water. They would need to be careful, far more than they had been…she would need to be careful…

With the danger past, she realizes a new kind of horror. Forces herself to recognize the fact that he wouldn't have been in that cave but for her. He can bend air and earth and water, he could have escaped at will…but without her.

_His death was my fault._

She shivers.

As much as she wants to hold him tight and never let him leave her protective embrace for as long as he lives, she can't. How can she? Does she have the right? Do any of them have the right? There will be other battles, other dangers, and _he_ has to fight them. She can only help.

Would he even want it? Maybe he would remember her role in his death, or maybe he would feel that she couldn't protect him.

As much as she wants to…

The clouds shift, and Yue is looking down at her.

Looking down at him.

The sudden rush of relief leaves her dizzy. No matter how dark the sky, even if the clouds hid her from sight, Yue was always there, watching over him. And there are others who wish to help, Sokka, Toph, Appa, even Momo. They'll be there for him, whether he wants it or not.

Even if sometimes she must be hidden, even if it might hurt, will hurt, to hold back, Katara can still be there when he needs her.

In Yue's light, his skin seems to glow. Not the fierce luminosity of the Avatar State, but a gentle, pale radiance. Life has returned to him.

And in that quiet, moonlit moment, Katara allows herself to hope.

* * *

**A/N: I like this episode so, so much. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
